Rwanda: Genocide, Gorillas, and More

Wednesday, August 7, 16:00

What can I say about our time in Rwanda?

First off, I can say we made it here! We arrived Monday morning at 07:00, sailed through immigration thanks to a very helpful representative from Wilderness who installed us in the Radisson lounge while he got our luggage. Then he brought us out front, where we met John, our driver/guide, and drove to our hotel where we would have spent the night if we’d gotten here on schedule. As it was, we got to spend all of an hour and a half resting and cleaning up.

As I previously posted, I was suffering from severe diarrhea at the hotel at Johannesburg airport. At least this time I wasn’t puking, though I was feeling sick to my stomach.

Then it occurred to me that this happened both times on Sunday night to Monday, one day after taking my weekly dose of hydroxychloraquine. So I looked up possible side effects of chloroquine, and bingo! Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. All four last week; three of the four this week. So I’m done with chloroquine (which, by the way, is an anti-malarial drug). We haven’t really had many mosquitoes, so I’m not too worried about getting malaria.

Anyway, we’re in Rwanda.

Genocide Memorial

After our short rest at Heaven Rwanda, John took us to the Genocide Memorial. Aside from being a solemn and sobering experience, the museum presented the information effectively and powerfully. Not only did we get the story of the Rwanda genocide of 1994, but we learned about so many individual stories from the families of victims, survivors, and perpetrators as well. Even having gone through the museum and read and listened to every story, it’s hard to fathom how such a thing good have happened.

This is the 30th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide. I was astonished to learn that it lasted just 100 days, during which time a million Tutsis were brutally raped, tortured, and murdered by Hutus who, in many cases, had been their friends and neighbors. As astonishing as anything were the stories of forgiveness and reconciliation. The evolution of this nation in the past 30 years is testament, I think, to a willingness to acknowledge and take responsibility for the horrific tragedy that unfolded here. John told us there are more than 250 genocide memorials across the nation.

What good does it do to whitewash the past?

To Musanze

We left the museum and started the three-hour drive to The Bishop’s House in Musanze, where we are now staying. (The name of this third-largest city in Rwanda was previously Ruhengeri, but its name has changed to Musanze, which is also the name of the district where it lies. Ruhengeri still shows up on Google Maps.) The drive took us through the outskirts of Kitali and some spectacular scenery and past some rural villages.

The Bishop’s House was formerly the home of the local Anglican bishop. Built in 2002, it became a ten-room guesthouse in 2017. It is gorgeous! The level of service, the food, and the decor are all beyond belief. I’m enjoying being spoiled. It does feel kind of weird, though, driving past people who seem to be living lives of basic subsistence and coming to a place like this where we are completely segregated from it all.

I’m going to jump ahead to today for a moment, because I want to share what Epa, our guide on today’s golden monkey trek, said in his debriefing comments.

Ten percent of the fees we pay to visit the gorillas and golden monkeys (and these fees are very substantial) go back to the local communities. It is because we come here that the people have electricity and clean running water. That is why, he said, the people look at us and wave with big smiles, and the children shout “Hi” from across the fields. They are happy we are here.

Gorillas and Golden Monkeys

Yesterday we did the gorilla trek, and today we did the golden monkey trek.

Each day started with breakfast at 05:45. The Bishop’s House provided us with backpacks and a snack box. They also sat us down in the lobby and put gaiters on us. (These are basically sleeves covering our calves and ankles to help us walking through the thick jungle undergrowth.)

John picked us up at 06:30 and drove us to the gathering point where we divided up into groups. (The group assignments for the gorilla trek seemed to be based on age; older folks like us would go after gorilla families that were relatively easy to get to.) For the gorilla trek, we were in a group of 8. Our golden monkey group was about double that.

We met our guide and got an orientation before we drove to the starting location. There we got walking sticks and had the opportunity to hire porters (for $10 USD plus gratuity).

The treks began with about twenty minutes of hiking through farmland where workers were harvesting potatoes. In addition to potatoes, they grow a type of chrysanthemum from which they derive pyrethrins for pesticides. 

Eventually we came to a stone wall marking the boundary of Volcanoes National Park.

Gorillas

On gorilla day, as we entered the park, we learned from Constantin, our guide, that the trackers up in the park had not yet located the family we were going to visit. He was in constant touch with the trackers by phone or radio.

The family’s name was Agasha, which means “special.” Constantin told us he would explain later why they got that name.

Uphill

We started our trek in the general direction where the trackers expected to find Agasha, and before long Constantin told us they had located the family, and it would be about thirty minutes’ hike to get there. 

It was, indeed, about thirty minutes. But what a thirty minutes it was! Thank goodness Mary Ann and I each hired our own porters! There were sections of the trail (and I use the term “trail” very loosely, as there was really no trail at all) where they were practically pulling us uphill. We were climbing through thick vines, over slick vegetation, and ducking under branches, all the while trying to avoid the stinging nettles. Apparently the gorillas had decided to settle in at a less accessible location than they expected when our elderly group set out.

Gorillas found!

But we did eventually find them. We spent a little over an hour observing them. Unfortunately they were nestled into thick vegetation, and after some playful activity in the first fifteen minutes or so, they mostly decided to nap. So it wasn’t the most optimal experience. But it was amazing to be so close to them and watch them, even if they weren’t doing a lot.

More up, then down

When it was time to leave, Constantin and the trackers suggested we not try to go back the way we came. Instead they said we would climb to the top of the mountain, and then there was a trail we could follow to get down. 

Even though the route uphill was more “make up a trail as you go,” it wasn’t too far. At the top we took a much-needed snack break, and Constantin explained the family’s name. 

Gorilla families typically have one dominant silverback and other younger males and females and their offspring. At one time, this family’s silverback died, and there were no ascendant males to take over the dominant role. Normally when this happens, the family will dissolve, and its members will join other families. But this family stayed together. When a silverback came and attempted to join them, they rejected him. But then another silverback came with his adolescent son, and they accepted him. That makes this family “special.”

Today the son has grown to successfully challenge his father for dominance. He is the silverback we saw. The old man was not around.

The way down was much easier. Still, I appreciated my porter, who grabbed my hand each time there were rocks or roots on the trail. Without her, I’m sure I would have fallen multiple times, and I doubt I could have made it to the top.

All in all, from the time we left the car park until we returned was about 4 1/2 hours.

Golden Monkeys

Today’s golden monkey trek was much easier. We walked just fifteen minutes in the National Park and then Epa, our guide, told us that the family we were seeking had moved to another location even closer to the park entrance. So we backtracked a bit and suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a community of over a hundred monkeys climbing trees, eating bamboo shoots, and mostly refusing to sit still and pose for photos.

They were pretty active the entire time, and they covered a pretty large open area, so our entire group was roaming around looking for the best opportunities to get photos and videos. I took well over 200, most of which were blurry, too dark, or duplicates. After going through them this afternoon, I’ve managed to cull it down to about 50.

The best part of our visit with the golden monkeys happened in the last ten minutes. They were invaded by another family. Suddenly there were over 200 monkeys scampering every which way in a fantastic display of mayhem.

As we reluctantly dragged ourselves away, we took a few last photos and hiked back to the car park.

I mentioned Epa’s comment ab out how we help the local community. He also talked about how these gorillas and monkeys wouldn’t be here except for us. Most of the fee (about $1500 per person, or more depending on the season) supports conservation efforts.

Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

After today’s trek we stopped at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. This was a great place to learn about gorillas in general and the work of Dian Fossey in particular.

The ones we saw are the mountain gorillas. These are also the ones Dian Fossey lived among and studied.

Both species are critically endangered, but the mountain gorilla numbers are slowly increasing due to intensive conservation efforts made possible by tourism.

Grauer’s gorilla is considered most at risk.

Western lowland gorillas are the most numerous subspecies, but they are declining. If you’ve ever seen a gorilla in a zoo, it was a western lowland gorilla.

The cross river gorilla has the smallest population.

The primary threats to gorillas are limited habitats or destruction of natural habitat, poaching, small population, and disease. We wore masks during our visit to help prevent disease transmission.

The mountain gorilla’s only habitat is in the Virunga volcanic mountains. These eight volcanoes encompass an area on the borders between Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. There are just over 1,000 living.

The same region is the habitat of the golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis kanati), a subspecies of the blue monkey. The golden monkey is also endangered, due largely to habitat destruction. Local farmers have encroached on park land, which is why the government built the stone wall around the edge of the National Park.

I’m so glad we got to see both of these magnificent animals despite the challenges we faced getting here and the cost.

Back to The Bishop’s House

Both days of trekking, when we arrived back at The Bishop’s House, we were greeted with a damp towel. Then we were escorted to chairs outside, where a staff member removed our gaiters, shoes, and socks and gave us a little foot massage. They kept our shoes and socks and cleaned them, returning them to us later. They also gave us some fresh tropical juice, and after we changed, they took our dirty clothes and laundered them for us.

This afternoon I sat out by the pool and watched the birds that came for a visit.

I’m going to miss this!

Thursday, August 8, 12:30

We have left Musanze and are on our way back to Kigali. Our flight to Nairobi was originally scheduled for 17:10, but yesterday we got a message from RwandAir that “for operational reasons” our flight has been rescheduled to 19:10. (“Operational reasons” was the same excuse they gave for canceling our flight from Lusaka to Kigali.)

This delay is actually not a bad thing. We had time this morning to do a walking tour of Musanze, guided by a member of the hotel staff. It was very interesting, and I was glad to have some time to be in Rwanda when were weren’t riding in a vehicle or inside the secure walls of a hotel. 

We visited the public market during our tour. It was quite the scene!

Need a taxi? Hail a bicycle!

And we are planning a visit to Caplaki Craft Village in Kigali before we head to the airport.

For now I’ll enjoy the scenic drive to Kigali and maybe take a nap along the way.

Postscript

Remember how our flight to Nairobi was delayed two hours, from 17:10 to 19:10?

It was delayed another hour and a half after that. We didn’t board until 20:15, and didn’t take off until 20:45.